Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans….

You really can do anything you like…..

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I would be running the Gold Coast half marathon off the back of 10 weeks with no training. There were some plans to train a little in the two weeks leading up to the event, however, I decided to skip that idea and run the 21.1 km race cold turkey.

Despite the lack of preparation, I started strongly covering the first 10 km’s in just under an hour. My expectations were that I would tire in the final third of the race and, almost on cue, I began to struggle as the 13 km mark approached. My legs started to cramp which led to a few spurts of walking. My lack of conditioning was hurting my efforts. With all this to contend with I was practically dragged along by encouragement from other runners. I’ve run my share of marathons so completing a half was always going to be doable yet, without any training, I was more than thankful for the encouragement of those fellow runners.

The finish line came and went with my final time clocking in at 2 hours and 23 minutes, some 38 minutes above my PB.

Four weeks later, i was at it again. This time the Brisbane half marathon. Things were a little easier without any walking breaks, cramps or fatigue. My finishing time dropped down to 2 hours and 8 minutes, a 15 minute improvement on the Gold Coast effort and not far off the sub 2 hours mark. I expect the next half I run will be a sub two hour and get me reading to head back into the full marathon circuit.

All you have to do in life is try your best and enjoy the journey no matter what your goals are.